Unconditionally
by bootsandsweats
Summary: After an accident, how will Castle and Beckett deal with their newly changed life's? Set AU after 6x13
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction, so please be kind :). Set after 6x13**. **I know this first bit is short, but the next chapter will be longer!**

* * *

><p>She gasps. Jerks awake amid the leftover flashes of her dreams.<p>

Memories.

Nightmares.

She tries to roll over, to get out of the panic induced sweat covered sheets which are tangled around her legs. She tries again to sit up, like she would've been able to before. But she doesn't have the same capabilities she once did. She is not the same person she was. The same badass detective.

Detective Kate Beckett.

Now, she is simply Kate Beckett.

She groans.

Using her hands she lifts and shifts her right leg over to the edge of the bed and out of the twisted sheets and comforter, after she slowly moves into a sitting position. Her left leg slowly follows her right and she reaches for her crutches leaning on her nightstand.

This is her new normal.

No longer can she roll out of bed after receiving a call about a dropped body in the wee hours of the morning. She has to slowly and carefully ease her weight onto her left leg and lean heavily on her forearm crutches (she had quickly realized the under the arm style were not going to work after she lost her grip on the handles and sprawled on the floor).

Three months in a hospital bed with the best doctors, nurses and physical therapists her fiancé could buy to help her had gotten her back the ability to walk, _more like shuffle _she thinks, with the use of crutches or another person holding onto her. She had been home for two months, had been fully living in the loft for two whole months.

This wasn't at all how she imagined moving in and living with Richard Castle. The love of her life. Their wedding had been postponed, but their relationship had actually strengthened. So much had changed, but she loved him even more after how he had been there for her.

But, after Black Pawn had threatened to take back the recent advance Castle had received if he didn't do the week long book tour, Kate was alone. Not actually alone of course, as Martha and Alexis both lived in the loft with them, the latter having moved back in after ending things with Pi. Lanie had also made a point to stop by in the two days Castle had been gone and check up on her, but with Rick gone she felt alone.

Neither of them had wanted him to leave, but Kate had ultimately made him go. Castle didn't care about the money, and neither had wanted the other out of their sight, but Castle needed to do his work, and it had killed Kate to tell him that. They had, all too recently been reminded how easy it was to lose the other.

Needless to say, the past five months had shaken them all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter! Thank you all for the reviews! :)**

**Forget to do a disclaimer on the first chapter, so: I unfortunately do not own **_**Castle.**_**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Five Months Ago<strong>_

The case they had just finished was simple, having been solved in a matter of hours and was, what Castle had pointed out, a cliché as the girlfriend of their victim had shot her boyfriend of two years because he had gotten a new job offer and was moving out of the city.

The young women was behind bars and all the case paperwork was done before five, and Captain Gates had graciously allowed the three detectives and writer an early start on their weekend after a long week.

"Hey Espo, Ryan drinks at the Old Haunt? Call Lanie and Jenny, see if they're game?" Castle directed the last part at Esposito with a smirk on his face.

The partners nodded to each other and then to Castle as both pulled out their phones, calling the two as Castle had suggested. Seeing their affirmative nods Castle turned back to Kate, checking to see if she was ready yet. Tangling his finger with hers and returning the grin on her face, he called out to the boys that they needed to hurry up if they wanted a ride (the two had taken the subway to work that morning).

Castle grinned as Kate laughed as the boys ran towards the elevator as the doors began to close, Esposito barely making it through the metal doors and punching Ryan in the shoulder because he had inadvertently tripped Esposito by their desks. Ryan rubbed his shoulder and grumbled an apology as Javier glared and Beckett and Castle chuckled, the elevator beginning its descent towards the garage.

None of them knew they wouldn't get that drink that night, or that lives would all change.

* * *

><p>After a brief argument and three games of rock, paper, scissors Rick triumphantly grabbed the keys from Kate's hand and twirled them on his finger. Kate groaned, knowing that Rick would gloat about finally beating her in a game of rock, paper, scissors. She hopped into the passenger's seat of Castle's SUV, laughing out loud as the two other detectives fought to get into the backseat before the other after she called shotgun, stating that it was her fiancé's car and she was not going to be in the backseat.<p>

Kate called out, "Boys, don't make me ground you!"

Grumbling among each other the two finally got themselves situated as Castle leaned towards Kate, whispering, "I feel like we already have two children to take care of."

His observation was proved when after he not-so-quickly kissed Kate on the lips and the two men/children in the backseat groaned and whined, "Ewww!"

Kate laughed and Castle shifted the car gear into drive, pulling out of the precinct's parking garage.

* * *

><p>After work rush hour traffic on a Friday was terrible, and only two blocks from the precinct, Rick had already been forced to slam on the brakes to avoid rear ending someone five times as every car on the road did the same. Muttering angrily at the newest idiot who had cut him off, he glanced in the rear view mirror to see Ryan and Esposito taping away at their phones, and a quick glance at Kate confirmed that she was doing the same.<p>

"Hey, babe." Rick said as he turned his eyes back towards the road. Getting no response from his fiancé even though she still wasn't fond of being called pet names, he tried again to get her attention. "Hey. Kate. Earth to Beckett!" Once again gaining no response he tried to think of what would get her attention away from her phone.

Grinning he continued to drive until traffic was again stopped and backed up from a red light. Castle quickly reached across the center console and squeezed right above Kate's knee, having recently found she was ticklish there. Her response was immediate. "Castle!" Kate screeched as she tried not to giggle in front of the boys. That was something they would never live down.

"What was that about?" Kate said while slapping his shoulder. She tried to smother her laugh as Castle dramatically pouted at being hit. "You and those two were zoned out at your phones and I wanted someone to talk to." He stated while still pulling off his fake pout. Kate shot him an equally fake glare, saying "And you couldn't have bugged of them? I'll have you know Alexis and I were discussing when we should go look at dresses, and I was telling her I'd ask when Lanie is free."

Castle smiled as he thought of his daughter's enthusiasm about the wedding planning, and about how Kate included her in everything she could. His smile turned to a frown though when they hit yet another red light. They were only a couple blocks away from the Old Haunt, and they were all ready for their post work drink. When the light finally turned green, Castle stepped on the gas, hopeful that would be the last red they encountered. When he heard Esposito, who was on the passenger side, yell and Kate let out a scared, "Castle!", his head turned quickly their way, only to see a large truck coming their way. He yelled out a quick "Kate!" before everything went black.

* * *

><p>She could hear yelling. And sirens. Everything hurt and someone was shouting her name over and over and another voice was calling for a medic and everything hurt. She blinked her eyes open and immediately wished she hadn't. She could see smoke coming from the car's hood and why her door pushed so far in? She looked to her right and saw the crumpled front end of a truck and then looked down when she realized her leg felt like it was on fire. Well, more on fire than the rest of her body.<p>

She thought it was strange for the metal to be bent that way around her leg, and _why did everything hurt so much_. She looked around for Castle hoping he could make it stop hurting when she realized he was still shouting her name.

His door was open and he was yelling out the windshield towards two medics who were unloading their gear from an ambulance. He had turned to yell again when she had finally looked at him, and she was trying to get his attention but was only able to rasp out a quiet "C-Castle." But it was enough. He turned back towards her and brought her hand up to his lips.

"Hey, everything is going to be okay, okay? Kate, we're going to get you out of here." He turned again and yelled, "Dammit get over here!" at the medics who were finally running towards them. "Castle, h-hurts. Make it stop hurting." She was in tears, but as soon as she stopped talking, her eyes rolled back into her head and she was unconscious again.

Castle felt two pairs of hands pull his out of the driver's seat as the medics reached the SUV and fought them until he realized it was Ryan and Esposito who, like his had some scratches and bruises but nothing to serious. Unlike Kate. He strained against the boys' arms until they managed to get Kate out of the SUV, something that seemed to take forever. As they load her onto a gurney he ran up to the ambulance yelling, "I'm her fiancé! You have to let me go with you! Please!"

The two paramedics nodded at each other and finished loading Kate into the back. Castle hopped in after her and told Ryan and Esposito he would see them at the hospital before the doors slammed and the ambulance was off.

* * *

><p><strong>Wrote this during the Superbowl cause let's be honest that game was an absolute joke. Hope you all like this! Reviews are appreciated! :)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Disclaimer: _Castle_ is still not mine

* * *

><p><em>Five Months Ago <em>

Esposito, Ryan, Lanie and Jenny rushed into the hospital's waiting room, the two detectives having been picked up from the accident and bringing them to the hospital. They made it to the nurses station and began their questions as one, before hearing the unmistakable vice of an angry and upset Richard Castle.

"NO! You can not expect me to not only be forced to wait to see my fiancé, but to also be taken to a completely different room? Do you know who I am? I have made countless donations to this hospital, you can probably thank me for your job, so no! I will not be leaving this spot unless I am taken inside Kate's room, or I am following wherever she is going." None of the group had ever seen Castle this angry, except for when Kate had been shot, but that wasn't even half of how he felt now. The doctor whom Castle had been screaming at stalked past them with a face bright red embarrassed and refused to look anyone in the eye.

Lanie led the way, coming beside Castle and touching his shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, Rick, we're all here. Have they told you anything? How was she on the ride over?"

Castle scrubbed his hands over his face before talking to his four friends- his family. "They were saying something in the ambulance about a concussion and a leg injury and rib injuries. It was so chaotic. She was mostly stable the whole way here, but right before we pulled in, her blood pressure fell and they started yelling to the driver to relay that there may have been a pierced lung. Oh God, this is so much worse than her shooting."

He stared past the four into the trauma room where his fiancé was being worked on. "Guys... W-what if she doesn't make it? I can't lose her after everything we've been through." With his last statement, Castle slid down the wall, sobbing into his hands as Lanie sat next to him and tried to assure him Kate would be okay. She had to be.

Ryan pulled out his phone and walked down the hall, murmuring about calling Alexis, Martha and Jim, while Esposito dialed the precinct to find out more about the guy who had hit them and if it was really an accident, while Jenny walked to a vending machine to get Castle a water.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Alexis, And Martha had showed up at the hospital and convinced Castle to move to the waiting room, whereas Kate's dad was apparently on a fishing trip in Alaska and was unreachable. Ryan had left a voicemail requesting him to call back as soon as he could.<p>

Castle and Esposito paced the room, while the others sat in the uncomfortable chairs and stared at the two who were constantly moving across the room. It was thirty minutes and five trips to the nurses station before the person coming through the door in scrubs was heading their way. Everyone rose as one as Castle and Lanie stepped closer to the doctor, both demanding at the same time, "How's Kate?"

The doctor motioned towards the door, and said, "Mr. Castle, why don't we move this to the conference room- you're listed as Ms. Beckett's emergency contact, so I can only speak to you."

"No." Castle stated as he looked at the others standing with him. "They're family. They can hear what you've got to say."

The doctor nodded, "Alright, when Ms. Beckett was admitted, she presented with a mild concussion,on her right side she had three cracked ribs and one broken rib, which punctured her right lung. We had to place a chest tube to re-inflate the lung, and so that has been taken care of. We were concerned there might have been a spinal injury, but there wasn't."

The doctor paused as everyone let out a sigh of relief. "However, her right hip was dislocated, and there was a fracture to the hip as well. We reset the hip, and stabilized it, but we won't know if there was any nerve damage until she wakes up, and from where her fracture is, there is a possibility. We will deal with that if it comes up. We do however want to know her sedated until the chest tube comes out, so we're keeping her on a ventilator to maximize her oxygen saturation. Other than a long road of recovery ahead, we expect that she will be fine. As soon as she is all settled in her room, the nurse will come and get you, but only two at a time in the room for now." After asking if they had any questions, the doctor headed back out the door.

Everyone let out a collective breath and had hopeful expressions, knowing that Kate would be live. Castle vowed to himself that he would do everything he could for this recovery, and that he would be there for the entire time to help her. Before any of them could speak again, the nurse came in and said, "Mr. Castle, I can take you all to Ms. Beckett's room now."

Before anyone else had thought of moving, Rick was out of the ugly plastic chair and moving towards the nurse.

* * *

><p>As they walked towards the ICU were Kate was until she was awake and off the ventilator, Rick was visibly nervous. He couldn't wait to see his fiancé, but the last time he had visited her in the hospital, it hadn't gone so well. Of course the entire situation was completely different, but he still felt uneasy. As the walked off the elevator, he turned to Esposito and Ryan.<p>

"Did you all get checked out? Espo you were on the side that got hit, are you alright?"

Both detectives nodded and Esposito spoke, "Yeah man, we got checked out on scene right after you and Beckett left. The impact was mostly towards the front of the car, Beckett took the hit. I just got a few scrapes and some bruises."

Ryan nodded in agreement, "Same for me. What about you Castle, have you gotten checked out?"

Castle nodded, "As soon as we arrived at the ER they made me get checked out before they would let me wait outside where Kate was."

As as soon as he finished his sentence he realized they were finally at the entrance to the ICU and the nurse was beginning to speak. "Remember, Ms. Beckett has been through a lot, she may not look quite like herself. Don't mess with any cords or machine, and hit the call button immediately if you notice that anything changes with Ms. Beckett at all. Only two at a time, and visiting hours are over in an hour."

With her speech done she walked off, and Castle stepped towards the sliding door that his fiancé was behind. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked through.

* * *

><p>Sorry it took forever to get this, Hope you enjoy though! Reviews are very much appreciated and thank you for reading! :)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Heres this next chapter! Thank you to everyone who is reading & those who are reviewing!**

_**Disclaimer: Castle is not mine :(**_

* * *

><p><em>Five Months Ago <em>

Castle took a deep breath as he stepped through the door to his fiancés hospital room. She was still in the ICU, and it was a single bed room, but the curtain was pulled halfway closed, blocking most of his view of her. Castle could only see one of her feet, as Kate's right leg was in a traction brace, as the doctor had mentioned while guiding Castle and the others to her room. Castle stepped forward the rest of the way, bringing Kate fully into his line of sight. If it wasn't for the tube coming out of her right chest, and the bruises on the right side of her face, Rick could've pretended she was sleeping.

Stepping around to Kate's left side, as to not disturb the many wires and tubes on her more injured side, Castle grasped her hand and slid the sole chair closer so he was as close as possible without actually being in the bed.

He leaned forward and murmured against her temple, "Kate, babe, I love you. You have to be okay, because I will most definitely not be fine if you aren't." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and settled back in his chair to watch her while she slept in her sedated state.

* * *

><p>She could hear a beeping noise that seemed to get louder with each beep, and was increasing in its annoyance by the second. Then she started to feel pain. It seemed to come in waves. She could feel a warm pressure on her left hand and near her left hip. She was distracted by that by the sharp pains radiating from her right hip to her foot. And then she felt the intrusion in her mouth in throat.<p>

Struggling away from whatever it was in her throat, she could hear the beeping get louder, and what sounded like someone yelling. That same person has grasped both her arms when she went to grab for the thing in her throat. _ Where is Castle? He'll make the pain go away. _Was all she could think when the voice that had been yelling had ceased and was talking softly to her. As it moved through her muddled mind she realized it was Castle and stopped thrashing around, immediately feeling safer now that she knew he was here.

Her eyes opened slowly as she felt his fingers stroking her face, and she moved her left hand wildly trying to find his. She gripped his hand tightly when he moved his to hers. She tried to communicate how much she hurt, how much she wanted the tube out and how much she loved him with the tight squeeze, hoping he didn't care that her grip was most likely hurting him.

He seemed to know what she was trying to tell him as he squeezed back and leaned right next to her ear, "Kate, love, I know it hurts, and I know you want the tube. Just please, stay calm and the doctor will take it out and give you more pain medication. I'm so glad you're awake."

His eyes looked up at the door, and Kate's followed as a doctor and two nurses rushed in, the doctor immediately moved to the side opposite Rick and began speaking. "Good to finally meet you, Detective Beckett. I'm Doctor Jefferson and I'm going to see about getting this tube out, something I'm sure you're looking forward to."

He checked her monitors, and talked quietly with the nurses at the foot of the bed while reading her chart. After placing the chart back in its slot, he smiled again spoke to Kate.

"I'm going to go ahead and remove the vent as it looks like you're breathing just fine. You'll be on an oxygen mask for a few hours while we make sure your levels hold steady and then we'll switch you to the nose cannula. Mr. Castle, if you'll please step out for a few minutes, this isn't a very pretty procedure to watch."

Kate eyes immediately became panicky, and she refused to release his hand which was still in hers. She began shaking her head, and tears started to leak out of the corners of her eyes. Castle gripped her hand harder and shot a look at the doctor.

"No, I think I'll be staying right here. I'll be fine, and obviously Kate is against me leaving, and as a matter of fact I am too."

The doctor sighed and nodded, seeing his patient calm back down now that her fiancé wasn't leaving. "Okay then. Detective Beckett, this is going to be very unpleasant. When I remove the tube, I'm going to need you to breathe out as hard as possible. When the tube is out, we'll be able to up your pain meds, but you'll need to cough every so often to help keep your lungs clear. Also, speaking is going to be painful to do, just a warning."

Kate nodded slightly, and stared at Castle as the doctor began unhooking the tube. He began to pull it out, and Kate blew out as deep of a breath that was possible, and finally the tube was out. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was coughing hard. When the coughing subsided, Kate fell back against the pillows of her hospital bed and croaked out, "Water?" while trying to not go back into a coughing fit.

The nurse handed Rick a cups of ice chips and he fed a few to Kate as the doctor checked her monitors and nurse prepared the oxygen mask.

"Alright Detective, keep this on for the next few hours, and we'll see about switching to the cannula. Get some more rest, and try to speak very much until your throat feels better. We should be able to remove the chest tube tomorrow, but for now rest. The nurse is going to put some more pain medication in your IV and set up the self pump."

With that the doctor walked out and left the nurses to getting Kate settled, and Castle set the ice chips on the bedside table. He lifted up the mask and quickly placed a soft kiss on her lips before sitting back down. Her eyes were already fluttering closed, and has just fully closed when he heard a raspy, quiet, and slurred, "Love you 'astle" before she succumbed to sleep.

Castle kept his hold on her hand, but sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, exhausted and happy all at once. He slid his phone out of his pocket, and sent out a quick text to everyone: **She woke up & they took out the vent. Gave her meds & she's back asleep. Come tomorrow around noon.**

Hitting send and looking at the clock on his screen, he realized it was four am and it had only been roughly eleven hours since they had left the precinct that evening. Shoving his phone back in his pockets and leaning his head forward on the bed, he kept his hand in hers and quickly fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

So I uploaded Chapter four earlier, so don't miss that. Sorry if any of this medical stuff is wrong- I tried my best to get it all right.

Disclaimer: _Castle _and its characters are in no way mine.

* * *

><p><em>Present<em>

Kate slowly crutched out of she and Rick's room towards the kitchen where coffee was already brewing and Alexis was sitting at the bar eating breakfast. Kate glanced around the open loft for Martha, but didn't see her or hear her so she figured she was already gone for the day. Alexis noticed Kate was slowly moving forwards towards her and smiled and let out a cheery, "Good Morning!"

There was routine now for how Kate's mornings went. Since it was such an effort to get out in the first place, and she obviously couldn't carry anything, she would make her own coffee and sit it on the bar all without her crutches and balancing precariously on her left leg and then whoever was there with her would have to be the one to make her what she wanted to eat.

She hated the limitations she had on her life, but she exerted what little control she had by making coffee for herself every morning. Except, of course, when Castle brought it to her in bed when she couldn't physically make it out of bed that day. After being home for two, her physical therapy had increased, and it took its toll on the former Detective.

Castle always scowled at her when she said former Detective, but it was true. As of right now, Kate would never be a cop again. She could barely walk for her bedroom to the kitchen with her crutches let alone chase down a suspect, or spend all day staring at a murder board.

She settled at the bar and reached for the paper lying next to Alexis' plate. Taking a sip of her coffee, she looked over the rim of her hug at the young woman with whom she had become very close to. "What do you have planned for today?" She asked before taking another long drink of the steaming drink.

"Well… I don't really have any plans, and since it's the weekend, I was hoping we could do a _Harry Potter_ marathon? That is, if you wanted to." She wasn't sure if the detective would want to, as she wasn't sure how she was feeling. Alexis had become used to the woman being tired, in pain and occasionally cranky from the previous two; especially with Alexis' dad being gone.

"Yeah... Actually, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Alexis. Count me in!"

* * *

><p>Hours later, Kate had fallen asleep lying on the couch, and Alexis was walking upstairs talking on her phone to a friend. Kate startled awake to the sound of her phone in her bedroom and groaned as she shifted herself up and leaning on her crutches. By the time she reached her room, her phone had stopped ringing. Sitting down gently and picked up her iPhone, she redialed Castle's number after seeing his name on the missed call list.<p>

"Hey," She sighed, wishing he was here with her and not across the country. "My phone was I the bedroom and I was in the living room, sorry."

"Kate," He breathed, also wishing he was with her and not in a hotel room on the west coast. "I miss you so much."

"Me too." She rubbed her eyes as tears threatened to escape. The combination of being tired, being on pain meds, and an aching heart from missing Castle had her ready to cry and they had only been on the phone for a minute. "How much longer until your home again? I miss you waiting on me hand and foot."

Castle made no acknowledgment of her attempted humor, as missing her and thinking of the last months had him ready to forget the book tour and fly home straight away on the next available plane. "Well, actually we cancelled the Midwest cities, so only four more days instead of eight. Four days isn't that long." Four days could go by so quickly, he thought. Four days had changed their lives five months ago.

On the other side of the country in their New York City loft, Kate was thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

><p><em>Five months ago Four days after the accident<em>

After finally having her chest tube removed the day before, Kate had been moved to a regular, more private room and they were celebrating it. The doctor had proclaimed that she was on the road to recovery, and should be able to leave the hospital in a matter of days. She, Castle, Lanie and the boys along with Alexis and Martha were now spread out among Kate's new room, watching TV, talking with each other and eating pizza that Castle had delivered.

The bed in her new room was much wider, and Kate and Rick were seated comfortably while Castle ate and Kate dozed with her head on his chest. Ever since getting moved out of the ICU, this was their usual position. The only time he moved was when Rick ran home quickly or a nurse had to check Kate's vitals.

Along with the chest tube that had been removed, the traction brace had been removed from Kate's leg. A physical therapist had come in an hour before to start moving Kate's let, just to stretch the muscle after days of no movement. It had hurt her fracture hip so much; she had used the self-regulating medication pump and was currently in a medicated doze.

Even though she had hit the button on the pump less than an hour ago and it had kicked in, her pain had slowly been building, not just in her hip, but her whole leg. She shifted for the millionth time in five minutes, trying to relieve some of the pain when Castle finally asked what was wrong.

"I hit the pump, but my leg hurts even worse. The pain meds are not helping." She was close to tears, and Castle looked to Lanie with a panicky expression. Lanie leaned over and quietly told Esposito to go and get the nurse before standing and walking to Kate's bed. Castle slowly got up, as to not jostle Kate and cause her more pain.

She was gripping his hand harder than she had when they removed the ventilator, and her eyes had become hazy with pain. Lanie was looking at her chart and her vitals when Kate got their attention with a loud grunt of pain. "Rick! Make it stop! Please. This hurts!"

The nurse finally came rushing in the room, and made everyone but Lanie and Castle leave. "Okay Detective Beckett, I've called Doctor Jefferson and he'll be here shortly, but right now he wants me to take you to get an x-ray."

She looked at Castle and he took that as his cue to leave. "Kate, I will be right here when you come back. They're going to find out what's wrong. I love you"

"I love you too." She had fearful eyes, and had tears leaking out her eyes. She squeezed his hand hard until another nurse came in, and she was wheeled out of the room. Lanie and Castle sank into chairs, wondering what had gone wrong.

* * *

><p><em>Two hours later<em>

Thirty minutes after they had taken Kate for x-rays, the nurse had come back and told Lanie and Rick that Kate was being taken into surgery, and they would update them when they could. Everyone had come back to sit with the two in Kate's room, and the mood was very different than it had been two hours ago.

Esposito and Ryan stood; they were going to go and get everyone a coffee, as the two could see it would be a long night. As the two walked towards the door, the doctor and a nurse finally walked through. Everyone stood from their chairs, and Castle walked forward, needing to know what happened.

"Mr. Castle," the doctor started forward. "You should take a seat."

Castle immediately crumpled, thinking the worst.

* * *

><p>So, hope y'all like this chapter, and I hope y'all review!<p> 


End file.
